The Use of Change Agents in Change Management

Robbins defines a change agent as a person who acts as a catalyst and assumes the responsibility for managing change activities. Gibson et al. see a change agent as a person or group who enters an ongoing organisation or part of the organisation to facilitate the process of change. Ivancevich et al. describe a change agent as an individual or team of people whose main responsibility is to initiate, suggest and even force change efforts within an organisation.

Change agents can be managers or non-managers, employees of the organisation or outside consultants. One can distinguish between the following types of change agents:

External Change Agents

External change agents can be considered temporary employees of the organisation because they are only engaged for the duration of the change process. External change agents can come from universities, consulting firms and training agencies. Many large organisations also have specialists at central offices that take temporary assignments at line units to assist in planning and implementing a change process. Once the assignment is concluded, they return to head office.

The external change agent is often regarded as an outsider with little or no knowledge of the real problems experienced within. The external change agent may also have opposing views to those of the decision/policymakers on the problems faced by the organisation, leading to mistrust.

External change agents are also disadvantaged in that they have an inadequate understanding of the organisation’s history, culture, operating procedures and personnel. However, external change agents may have specialised knowledge in change management and can offer a more objective perspective by refocusing the organisation’s relationship with the changing environmental demands. Internal change agents, especially those who have been with the organisation for many years, are often more cautious because they fear offending long-term friends and associates. As a result, their change efforts are often not focused or effective.

Internal Change Agents

The internal change agent is an individual working for the organisation who knows something about its problems. Internal change agents include newly appointed managers (“the new broom”), who expects that change is required to turn around performance. New managers are often appointed with the expectation that they will be able to change things for the better. Senior executives are also often looked at as change agents. It is important to note however that ordinary employees can also take up the role of internal change agents.

Internal change agents are also often viewed as being more closely associated with one unit or group of individuals than with any other. This perceived favouritism leads to resistance to change by those who are not included in the internal agent’s circle of close friends. The intimate knowledge of the history, culture, operating procedures and personnel, however, puts the internal change agent in a strong position to initiate change.

External-internal Change Agents

A combined team of internal and external agents can be used to intervene and develop change programs. This approach attempts to use the resources and knowledge base of both internal and external change agents. A designated individual or small group within the organisation serves with the external change agent to spearhead the change effort.

The combined external-internal change team seems to have an excellent chance for success, due to the outsider’s objectivity and specialised knowledge coupled with the insider’s knowledge of the organisation and its human resources. This blending of knowledge often results in increased trust and confidence among the parties involved.

Roles and Functions of Change Players

People may be required to play different roles during a change effort. Three main dimensions of “influence” as well as distinct roles in driving organisational change are applicable:

Leadership Dimension

In terms of the leadership dimension, the change agent needs to translate opportunities or threats arising in the external environment into a business case for change and the work of the leader is to:

• Own and maintain the vision.
• Take ownership of the change benefits and ultimate responsibility for achieving them.
• Influence the organisation as a whole to become aligned with the vision.
• Keep his/her pulse on the vitality of the change project and give whatever treatment is necessary.
• Communicate information verbally and electronically.
• Communicate meaning in his/her actions.
• Nurture relationships.
• Resolve conflict where it is damaging.
• Create conflict where there is complacency.
• Sell ownership and accountability.
• Promote self-responsibility.
• Agree on a project scope, objectives and success criteria with the change team.
• Free up funding, resources and staff.
• Review and approve progress and any deviations from the plan.

Change Team Dimension

The change team should ideally be a group of people who share enough political power to make things happen and enough credibility in the organisation to gain acceptance and approval for the change. The change team should support the change leadership and its work is to:

• Make sure it has the right amount and mix of members.
• Learn how to be a team (what is its purpose and objectives/how will it behave).
• Understand the need for change, as passed on from the leadership.

Help share the vision and adapt its messages so that it can be communicated to all audiences in the company and using a variety of channels:

• Shake up the status quo.
• Identify exactly what the change is, who it targets and how it can be leveraged.
• Design the new work processes and culture.
• Align strategic and operational concerns.
• Derive specific goals from the vision and oversee their achievement.
• Lead or champion change leadership courses.
• Organise change communication.
• Diagnose and solve problems and inhibitors to change as they arise.
• Maintain relentless momentum, learning and freshness.
• Encourage all managers or team leaders to propagate these objectives and behaviours.
• Be a source of mentorship and coaching.

Employee Dimension

The employee dimension in driving organisational change refers to those individuals who cannot be described as either a leader or a change team member, but who will still be responsible to make the change effort work. Employees need to own three main objectives concerning change:

• To develop their capacity for change – the intellectual strength, emotional openness and attitudinal resilience to accept what is happening.
• To be involved in the change program – to listen, to attend, to be open.
• To participate – to offer information and ideas, to join together with others to solve problems as they arise, to challenge the status quo, to offer feedback on how the change is working at all levels of the organisation, in other words – to own the change.

Change Agent Evaluation Sheet

Click here to download and complete the change agents evalution sheet.